Revelation
by thegirlofmanymoods
Summary: Sequel to The Princess Wears Breeches. Sakura now knows the truth about Gaara and is unsure about how to deal with it. At the same time, a war is beginning between nations and Sakura finds herself thrown into the middle of it. Friendships will be tested and new alliances will be created while everyone wonders just who they can trust.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone. Finally, here's the sequel to the Princess Wears Breeches. I think you guys might find that it's quite different from Princess. It was quite fun to write this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy. **

* * *

_One and a half months ago_

_Mikoto Uchiha walked worriedly towards the palace. While she was a bundle of nerves, her husband, Fugaku, appeared stoic as always. He could be happy, sad, or angry but he never allowed his physical appearance to show any of it. In fact, if someone other than his immediate family looked at him, it would seem as if the man did not have any emotions. _

_However, Mikoto was part of his immediate family, and knew him possibly better than anyone else. She knew from one glance that he was nearly as nervous as she was. Given the circumstances, who in their right mind wouldn't be?_

_The guards that surrounded them seemed as still and emotionless as her husband. Sometimes she thought about what it would be like if she didn't have any guards surrounding her person for nearly most of her day. Growing up in royalty, she was used to almost never being alone, always having at least one guard follow her around. She knew that it was for her benefit; after all, she was the Queen of Sound. _

_On the other hand, if they used guards more often, maybe they wouldn't be in this mess. _

_As if reading her thoughts, Fugaku squeezed her hand lightly. The Queen knew from experience that it was pointless to look over at him, for his eyes remained directed straight ahead and not at her. She was grateful for his private show of affection and assurance, especially since it was rarely given. As the King, and more importantly, as an Uchiha, Fugaku was a firm believer that public shows of affection were to be avoided. And he enforced this belief, almost a little too harshly in her opinion, not that she would ever speak that thought aloud… _

_She turned her attention to the palace that they were walking up to. It had been quite a long time since she had been here. At least five years if not more. She had always wanted to return. Her and Mebuki Haruno had been friends since they were children. They had been able to bond quite quickly, given that the two were quite similar. Both had grown up in royalty or, as they thought of it, political pawns. Although, Mebuki had always been more vocal about her opinions of their status than Mikoto ever was. It had gotten the pink haired princess into quite a bit of trouble. Another difference between them was the treatment of their children. _

_ Mebuki had always wanted for her child to not be the tool that she had been. When the woman had received the note from Sakura that the girl wanted to stay on the island she was sent to, she had made sure that her daughter remained there. She had fought the protests that had come everyone from advisors, other royal families and even her own husband. All to make sure that her child was happy._

_Mikoto on the other hand had been quite different. Both of her children had grown up in an environment where status and outward appearances were valued much more than having a good childhood. Everything about their lives were planned, from their future positions in Sound to what kind of training they would receive to how they spent their so called 'free time'. They were reprimanded whenever they protested or did anything that Fugaku deemed 'below an Uchiha'. Mikoto loved them both, and had let them know that she loved them. However, she did nothing to stop how they were treated. She always found herself wondering that if she had acted differently, maybe Itachi would still be with their family…_

_She quickly pulled herself away from those thoughts and mentally scolded herself. She was here for an important purpose and here she was daydreaming. It simply wouldn't do, especially not for an Uchiha. _

_Unfortunately, the reason why she and her husband were here only brought her sorrow, even though going to the Heilig palace used to bring her happiness. _

_They had arrived at the entrance and the doors were being opened. She couldn't help but look around at all of the soldiers that surrounded the castle and compared them to the measly amount her and her husband had brought with them. She knew that at this occasion they were more for appearances than defense. For if the Heilig King and Queen decided to attack them, not that they ever would, ten guards would not be able to do much to protect them, except for perhaps stalling for a few moments. _

_A tall redheaded man walked towards from inside the palace. His head was held high and he was dressed in robes made of only the finest silk. "Hello King Fugaku, and Queen Mikoto," he greeted, bowing his head._

_Both she and her husband repeated the gesture. "King Kuzashi," Fugaku replied. It was always he that spoke, never her. This never angered or upset her. However, for this particular issue, she almost wished that she could speak out to get help. "Forgive us, but we came here for an important purpose and do not have time for chat or other pleasantries."_

"_Oh?" King Kuzashi rose a brow. "Then what might I ask, are you here for?"_

_Fugaku spoke again. If one listened really closely, they might have been able to pick up a hint of worry in the man's voice. "Do you know where Sasuke is?"_

* * *

"Where, where am I?" Gaara asked.

"In Suna," she replied. "Apparently that's where you were going after I left."

"You left?" He asked, confusion evident on his face.

She nodded. "When you were sick, I suspected that you were bitten by a snake. No one else on the boat believed me. So I snuck off of it and went back home to get you the antidote for the bite. And then I came here to give it to you."

"So you left. Why did you come here?" He asked.

"To help you," Sakura replied. "You're welcome for that by the way."

His eyes narrowed. "Why?"

She shrugged. "I guess you and your little posse grew on me." She looked around the room. "It's nice here, minus the horrible weather and sand everywhere of course. That reminds me." She glanced at him. "You have some explaining to do."

He glanced at her. "Really?"

She nodded, and thought of everything that had made her confused, all the little findings she had discovered. And she came to one conclusion. "You're not really a pirate are you?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Then what are you?" She asked him.

He looked down for a moment, as if trying to decide something. Then his gaze met hers. "This," he explained. "Is a lot bigger then you think it is."

"…How much bigger?" Sakura asked Gaara, not sure what to expect. She knew that she should be serious and be ready to take in every word he said, because it was probably very important. Still, a part of her was squealing inside. She was right! All of that confusion and worry had not been for naught.

"Maybe I should I be the one to explain," a new voice suggested. Sakura looked over to see Kankuro walking towards them. She had forgotten that he was in the room. "Great to see that you're awake brother and no offense, but I think I'd be more thorough in my explanation."

Gaara's eyes narrowed a little. Sakura wasn't positive, but she thought that she saw Kankuro flinch. However, after that Gaara slowly nodded and Kankuro began. "Well, first off, we are not pirates."

"I already knew that," Sakura cut in.

"Really?" Kankuro looked surprised. "How?"

She grinned. "You guys are lousy actors."

Kankuro narrowed his eyes, "Hey, I-"

"Get on with it," Gaara cut in.

Kankuro sighed. "Fine. You see Sakura, we are people fighting for Suna and Konoha. I guess you could call us soldiers."

What? Soldiers? She was not expecting this. Her eyes widened and her mouth slung slightly opened.

Kankuro laughed at her reaction. "What? Do we not seem like the type?"

"I…umm…well," Sakura stuttered. This made Kankuro laugh harder.

Gaara cleared his throat, getting Kankuro to stop his laughter and straighten up. "You see Sakura," he continued. "Konoha and Suna received word about two months ago that Sound was going to wage war on us."

* * *

_One month ago_

_Mikoto was filled with sorrow as she walked to their castle with Fugaku. The Harunos had no idea where Sasuke was. In fact, they didn't even know that he was missing. They promised to send out forces to look throughout their kingdom and immediately send word out if they found any leads, but that didn't make her feel any better. _

_Sure she was grateful that they would join in the hunt for him, but she would have liked it so much better if they said that they had saw him somewhere. _

_Where was her little boy? _

_The doors to their home were opened for them as they walked them. Their personal advisor, Orochimaru, was there waiting for them. _

"_I take it you never found Sasuke," he hissed, showing no sadness or distress as he did so._

_Mikoto didn't like Orochimaru. She found him too untrustworthy. He always acted like he had an ulterior motive and was never one to show any mercy. Of course she never told anyone this, especially not her husband. It was simply not her place. _

_Fugaku shook his head. "Unfortunately no."_

"_Well then I have some news that you two may find interesting," Orochimaru informed them, a slight grin showing on his features. "However, it is a mixture of both good and bad information."_

"_Let's hear it then," Fugaku answered impatiently. Even though she kept her mouth shut, she was as eager to hear the news as Fugaku._

"_It has been rumored that Sasuke has been sighted in Konoha," Orochimaru explained. Mikoto felt her heart leap, if only for a second. But then she remembered the fact that Orochimaru wasn't finished yet and tried to calm down her heart again. "However, it is also rumored that both Konoha and Suna are preparing their troops for war. It is a distinct possibility that they have captured Sasuke and are planning to use him as a reason to start a war with Sound."_

_Mikoto's heart sunk. Sasuke being used to start a war? Her poor boy. But wait, it was only a possibility right? That meant that there was a chance that he wasn't being used for war, that he was ok. _

_Fugaku had his eyes shut and appeared to be in deep concentration. She wasn't positive, but she was pretty sure that he was having the same type of thought process that she was having. After a while, he opened his eyes. "We will send spies to Konoha to make sure. If the rumors prove to be true…we will have to consider going to war."_

_Mikoto couldn't be sure, but she thought that Orochimaru's lips tilted upwards a little._

* * *

"So we have been preparing accordingly," Kankuro explained. "Sound is a very powerful nation and would be very difficult to defeat. Therefore, we decided that we needed to take…added precautions. This is where you come in Sakura. We knew how your parents have a gem that controls a dragon, and we were hoping to use that dragon. That part was real. Our plan was to get you, bring you to Heilig, and then convince your parents to let use the dragon. The reason we brought you was because we thought that your parents would be grateful that we brought you home, thus giving them more reason to let us use the dragon.

"The problem with that is we didn't want Sound to know that we knew of their plans. So, we decided to pretend that we were pirates so that no one suspected anything. And yeah, that's pretty much everything," Kankuro finished.

Sakura was silent as she let this information sink in. So she was a pawn for them to get the dragon. She knew this before, but it still didn't feel good to be told that again. Gaara had been right before, this _was_ a lot bigger than she had previously thought, and she wasn't really sure what to make out of it.

There was one part of it that really irked her though, and she decided to voice this irritation. "Why wasn't I informed of any of this before now?"

This time it was Gaara who spoke. "We didn't tell you because we couldn't risk you blabbering about our plan to someone else. It would have exposed the fact that we were aware of Sound's plans."

She turned to him and glared. She should expect as much from him. "Really? You have that little faith in me? You didn't know me when you met me, how could you think that I was automatically going to spill my guts to any passer-by that came my way? And who the heck would I tell anyway? It's not like there was anyone I could tell; we were on a boat the entire time!"

He didn't even blink at her outburst. "It was too big of a risk."

* * *

_One week ago_

_Mikoto was alone with her husband in the throne room. Although they were alone, Fugaku showed no affection towards her. That was reserved for their bedroom alone, and even then, sometimes it was scarce. _

_In this case however, affection from her husband was far from her current thoughts. Her mind was focused on one thing, just like it had been for the past weeks: her son Sasuke. How she wished for him to be safe and at home, where he belonged._

_The door to the room opened a man dressed in black emerged. The only part of him not covered in cloth was his head, which was likely just because he had removed his mask. "King Fugaku, Queen Mikoto," he spoke up as he gave an obligatory bow. _

"_Miso," Fugaku acknowledged him. "What is the situation in Konoha and Suna?"_

_Even though Miso rarely showed emotion, he seemed almost sad when he stated, "It is true, Konoha and Suna are preparing for war."_

_Fugaku's mouth formed a grim line. "Then we have no choice. We must go to war with Konoha and Suna."_

_Hidden away in a corner of the room, Orochimaru grinned._

* * *

Sakura's glared hardened. Why that little-

Her thoughts were cut off when Temari walked into the room. "Kankuro how is- Sakura? What are you doing here?" Her gaze drifted to the recently awoken red head. "Gaara! You're awake!"

She ran towards her brother. "I'm so glad you're ok! I was so worried about you. How were you able to recover?"

"Sakura came and gave him an antidote," Kankuro explained. "Turns out the entire reason she left was to get Gaara medicine. She just got here a little ago and helped him."

Temari froze, shock present on her face. Then, slowly she turned her head to look at the medic. "Sakura. I don't know why on earth you did it, but thank you. You have no idea how grateful I am to you for saving my little brother's life."

Sakura gave a small smile. "Hey, don't mention it." Temari grinned.

"So what did you come in here for sis?" Kankuro asked.

Temari shrugged. "I just wanted to know how Gaara's condition was."

Their happy moment was stopped abruptly when a woman dressed in armor rushed in. "Temari!"

Temari's stance went from being relaxed to uptight and cautious as she turned to look at the woman who had walked in. "Yes?"

"It's Sound. We just received word that they have declared war on Konoha and Suna."

* * *

_Present day_

_Sasuke walked broodingly back to the castle. He was an idiot for letting Sakura get away that one time. They were so close to getting her! But he had been convinced that they would have another opportunity to retrieve so he let her go. His parents and Orochimaru would be so disappointed. _

_Why the heck would she want to stay with Gaara and his group anyways? Sasuke did not know Gaara very well personally, but he had heard rumors about how the man was a savage who was born with a lust for blood. Despite the fact that he had quite the female fan base, he was feared by many. _

_And besides that, Gaara was with Suna, Sasuke was with Sound. He knew that Heilig was technically neutral with both nations, but it was much closer to Sound than it was with Suna, especially because of the relationship between its Queen and his mother. _

_Perhaps Sakura wasn't aware of who he was. After all she did grow up on that small excuse for an island. Gaara probably tricked her into thinking that he was some petty pirate that wanted her as a sex slave or something. Yes, that was it. _

_Orochimaru was there waiting for him at the entrance of the palace. "Aww, Prince Sasuke," he hissed. "How did your private mission go?"_

_Sasuke shook his head, once again beating himself up over the fact that he failed to save her. "We weren't able to get the Princess." _

_Orochimaru did not seem surprised by this. "Alright."_

_This was going to be hard to break to his parents, being gone for so long and not having anything to show for it. His father was going to be disappointed with him. But then again, when wasn't he? "Where are my parents?"_

_Orochimaru looked at him with pity. "Sasuke, I have to tell you something."_

_Sasuke had a bad feeling when he asked. "What?"_

_"Itachi returned just a few days ago and departed quickly after. Sasuke, he killed your parents."_

* * *

**And there's the first chapter. Just to make it clear, what was going on in italics and what was going on in normal text were not connected (people in Suna did not know what was happening in Sound with Sasuke and his parents and vise versa). Hope you all enjoyed this. **


	2. Bad surprises

Sakura stared down at the ground as the world around her moved at an astounding rate.

People were running around everywhere, trying to prepare for the war, as well as trying to understand why Sound declared it in the first place. There was lots of shouting.

But she was not paying attention to any of this. She was still attempting to wrap her head around what had happened, and what she had just been told. Gaara and the others had lied the entire time they were on the ship.

She knew that they had had good reasons for it. After all, they wanted to help their country, and didn't want to risk a princess blabbering to someone about their plan.

Still, it didn't feel good knowing that they deceived her. Even after they had gotten to know her, they never thought that maybe, their initial thoughts of her weren't correct and that she wouldn't tattle on them. They didn't have any faith in her at all. She felt betrayed.

Gaara didn't even look bothered by the fact that he had lied for so long. She didn't know why that bothered her so much. It shouldn't bother her more than any of the other's lying to her. Maybe it was how he didn't even seem to change his mind after she healed him. Or maybe it was something else. She wasn't really sure.

Come to think of it, he still hadn't thanked her for healing him. It took a really long time to save him, and he didn't even look appreciative. Well, in his defense it seemed like that was just his nature. And a nagging voice inside her head told her that she shouldn't heal people just to get their thanks.

A tug at her pant leg broke Sakura's train of thought. She looked and saw Akamaru on her left side, trying to get her attention. Her eyes shot open. If Akamaru was here, then Kiba was as well.

"Hey," Speak of the devil, Kiba walked up to her and sat down next to her. She supposed that she shouldn't be too surprised considering that he was in the same group as Temari and her siblings. Perhaps the rest of the group was here too.

"Hi fake pirate," Sakura greeted with a hint of malice in her voice.

He rose up his hands in surrender. "Sorry! I really did want to tell you, honestly. But the others had insisted that we keep it private."

"And by 'others' you mean Gaara?" she guessed.

He grinned sheepishly, "Well…yeah. But, in his defense, he does have major trust issues. A lot of crappy stuff happened in his childhood. But, and don't quote me on this, I think even he was considering telling you at one point."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Somehow she found that hard to believe. Kiba laughed at her expression, "Or maybe not," he commented before turning serious. "You did a really good thing for him."

"Thank you," she replied.

"I think that, even if he's not showing it, he is really grateful," he told her.

Somehow she doubted that as well.

"So what do you think you'll do now?" He asked, looking almost nervous as he did.

That was a good question. She hadn't really thought of that before now, she had been so focused on healing Gaara. What was she going to do now?

She could just go back to the island. After all, she technically wasn't involved in the war. She wasn't affiliated with Konoha or Suna, or even Sound. She could just go back to the island and, with the exception of Tayo being gone, live like she had lived before; a quiet, peaceful life that she never got tired of.

However, even though she had been forced into the going on the ship and being with its crew, it was a part of her now. And she doubted that she'd be able to just forget that it had happened.

But what other option did she have? Stay with them? Fight with them?

She sighed, "I really don't know."

Before he could respond, Temari strode up to them. "Kiba, Gaara's gathering us together to decide what to do next." Her eyes moved Sakura. "He wants you to come too. But you can refuse if you want."

She shook her head. If she said no then he would most likely release his anger at Temari, and she didn't want that. "I'll come." They walked together to where the rest of the group was gathered, which was in a hut a short ways away from where Sakura had been sitting.

The whole crew was there. All eyes turned to her when she entered, causing her to feel a little self-conscious. Their expressions varied. Some looked surprised to see her, other appeared grateful. The only one who didn't let their reaction show was Gaara, which really wasn't a big surprise.

She and Gaara locked eyes for a moment. He almost looked uncertain. But he quickly averted his gaze before she was sure.

"We need to decide what to do," Gaara spoke up. Like always, he was to the point, sparing no extra energy to greet people. "However, what we chose to do is heavily influenced by Sakura."

What? Her? "What do I have to do with it?" She asked.

This time it was Kankuro who spoke. "Sakura, we were hoping to continue what we were doing previously. You know, when we were all on the ship together…"

Her eyes narrowed. "You mean use me to convince my parents to get that dragon thing."

He blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Well yeah. But you obviously wouldn't be a prisoner anymore. And maybe you could just ask your parents for it instead of us trying to bargain with them."

So they wanted to do the exact same thing as before. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. If Sound was a formidable enemy, they could probably use this dragon. That's assuming that the dragon was willing to be used of course. She didn't like the idea of being used either, although this time it would be voluntary.

There was also what she had been considering before: she could just go to back to the island.

She sighed and gave the answer she told Kiba, "I don't know."

"What?" Gaara exclaimed, walking up to her. "After everything you'd really just abandon us?"

Oh he did not just go there. She stepped closer to him and glared. "You mean after you kidnapped me and left me in the dark all that time?"

His eyes narrowed. "We didn't kidnap you, you said that you would come with us."

"You were destroying my island, I didn't have a choice" she exclaimed.

"You know why we needed to go do it," he growled.

"Oh so my homeland is disposable and yours isn't?"

"You're the princess of Heilig, that island was not your homeland."

"Hey!" Temari cut in. "Cool it you two."

They separated. Sakura didn't realize how close they were until they moved apart. She breathed out in an attempt to calm herself down. "I think I need time to think about this," she explained.

Gaara looked like he was going to retort something, but clenched his jaw.

Temari nodded at Sakura. "Then I think for now we should just go over what we know about Sound. Anyone want to speak up about what they know?"

Kankuro spoke up. "Well, apparently the King Uchiha and his wife have been killed."

Uchiha? As in Sasuke's last name? Kiba had explained to her a little bit about the attack they had back on the ship. He hadn't explained very much, but he said what the names of everyone who attacked them.

Neji must have noticed her confusion, because he explained. "Sasuke was their son."

He was royalty? Wow, she was not expecting that. She didn't think he looked very 'prince like'. But then again, he thought the same thing about her. His parents died? Ouch. Even if he seemed kind of a like a jackass when she saw him (albeit a cute jackass), she still felt bad for him. That would be a horrible thing to go through, for anyone.

"Yeah," Kankuro put in. "So now that they're gone, until Sasuke is of age, the advisor Orochimaru has taken control over the country's' defenses."

Somehow that name seemed very familiar. Where had she heard it before? Think girl think. She didn't remember any talk of him on the ship. Itachi and the others never mentioned him. And she doubted that people on the island would speak of him, they were all kind of isolated there.

Maybe she had read it somewhere then? Maybe a scroll or a book or a letter? Wait, a letter! Sakura's eyes went wide. One of Tayo's letters was sent by him! Where did she put those? They were in her bag. If memory served, she had left them in the bag she had brought with her. She had left the bag in the room where Gaara had been previously resting.

Why did she just leave it there? She hoped that it would still be there now. "Hey guys, I actually need to go and do something," she explained quickly as she started to walk away. "Be back in a bit."

She raced towards the castle. How could she be stupid enough to just leave her bag there? Yes she had preoccupied with healing Gaara, but there was no excuse for why she left it after that.

The pinkette entered the castle and quickly moved through hallways, ignoring the eyes of people that she passed, along with the 'what are you doing here' questions?

Finally, she came to the correct room and, thank the gods, her bag was still there. She walked over to it, her breathing now heavier because of her run.

She walked over to the bed that Gaara had been sleeping in and sat on it. Then she reached over and picked up her bag. But before she could take out on of the letters, she hesitated.

The pinkette hadn't thought about it until now, but why exactly would Orochimaru mail a letter to Tayo. How would the two even know each other? Maybe Tayo had been raised in Sound? It was a possibility; she didn't know very much about Tayo's childhood. Maybe they had been friends? She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Sure, since she wasn't from Konoha or Suna Sound technically wasn't her enemy. But after spending so much time with the crew, she couldn't help but feel a little more biased to their side.

She hoped for the best and took out a letter. Here goes nothing. She opened the letter and started reading it.

_Dear Orochimaru,_

_To answer your question, no one suspects anything about Haru's 'accident'. One good thing about the tiny island is that people don't seem to be overly curious and leave well enough alone. The pink haired brat seems to have accepted the idea that he had died in a bush fire and seems to be adapting fine, even if she still seems to cry a lot. I still question why you ordered me to watch the brat, but they are your orders and I will obey them._

_Until I send you another update,_

_Tayo._

Sakura's hands shook as she finished reading the piece of paper. Tears were streaming down her face and she made no move to wipe them away.

How? Why? So everything she thought she knew about Tayo was a lie? Tayo had really hated her that much? And apparently Haru had been murdered somehow! How was this possible? Tayo had never shown signs of not liking her much less hating her. This just didn't seem possible and yet, apparently it was. Her step father had been murdered and Tayo had only been with her because the woman had been instructed to do so.

"What did you come here for?" A sharp voice caused Sakura to look up and see Gaara at the door. He had probably followed her when she took off.

His stern expression changed slightly to one of surprise when he saw her tears and the letter. "What is that?" He asked his tone now more soft than before.

He walked up to her and gently tugged the letter away from her hands. She didn't have the will power or the energy to stop him, so she let him look at the letter.

His eyes narrowed when he read it. But he paused when he finished, almost as if he wasn't sure how to interpret it. Then he put the letter down and studied her face. Most likely to judge if he thought she was some spy from Sound or not.

She didn't expect his next question, "Are you alright?"

If other people had asked, she would have tempted to snap back 'do I _look_ alright'. But he had seemed really awkward when asking it, as if he really didn't know how to comfort people. Considering his personality, that wasn't very surprising. Maybe if she wasn't in her current state, she would have gawked at him for asking that. But now all she did was shake her head.

"Do you…want to be alone?" He asked quietly.

Sakura bit her lip. She wasn't sure. She knew that she wouldn't get much comfort from the redhead, even if he was trying. But she didn't exactly want to be alone either. Slowly, she shook her head.

He froze for a little while and she looked down at the ground, waiting for him to leave so she could continue to cry. However, instead of hearing footsteps that led away from the room, his footsteps went towards the bed. Her head whipped to the side to see Gaara slowly sitting down on the bed beside her.

He made no move to touch her and didn't usher out any consoling words. The two just sat side by side, one silent and as the other wept. And yet, his presence was enough to help her. To let her know that there was someone out there who cared enough to stay, that she wasn't alone in the world. And that was what she really needed.

* * *

**Hey people. I hope you liked the chapter. **


	3. Decisions

**Hey everyone. Sorry that this is so very short, but if I made it longer than it would take at least another week for me to put this up. Anyways I hope you guys enjoy it and please leave a review at the end, thanks :)**

* * *

Sakura wasn't sure how long they sat there for. Maybe a few minutes, perhaps a few hours.

She still couldn't understand it. Tayo never once acted like Sakura was a brat or that she hated her. Heck, the woman often told the pinkette how much she appreciated having her around. Sure they argued sometimes but those were always about small things and were always resolved quickly. Tayo had easily found a place in her heart, and Sakura never thought that there would be an issue with that.

But she was wrong.

Tayo lied to her, and…and…she killed Haru. She had spent days crying over his death, and much of that time was spent with her head on Tayo's lap as the woman comforted her. All that time, and she was really the reason why her step father was dead.

She felt betrayed, hurt, cheated, and a thousand other things. However, more than anything, she felt foolish. Surely there must have been some sort of sign; some warning sign that she overlooked. The medic had been able to figure out that Gaara and the others weren't pirates with practically nothing to go on. But she racked her brain and could not find anything. Well, except for the letters, but she and Tayo had an agreement that they'd try to stay out of each other's things. Or had Tayo lied about that too? She wouldn't be surprised; she didn't know what to believe anymore. It was all just too much.

"What is your decision?" Gaara's voice broke her train of thought.

She turned to look at him. Decision? What decision? Oh right, whether she was going with them to see her parents or not.

What options did she have right now? Either go with them or find some way to get back home. And right now the latter wasn't looking very appealing. She'd be returning to a lie. The pinkette could already tell that she wouldn't be able to stomach living in that house again, at least not for a while. When she thought about it, there was one other option. She could try and track down Tayo on her own to try and demand answers from her, answers that she desperately wanted. However, it probably wouldn't go over well if she just barged into Sound demanding to see her.

She let out a sigh. Well, a part of her had always wanted to see what her real parents were like. The rosette nodded, "I'll go with you."

The redhead showed relief. Or at least, Gaara's version of showing relief, which was really just a slight relaxation of previously tense muscles. The guy had the emotional variation of a tree sometimes. Just how was it that she thought he was attractive? Wait…what?

He stood up and motioned to leave. "We need to go back now."

She nodded once more and got up. Gaara began to leave, but before he did she called out to him. "Wait."

The redhead and stopped and looked around. "What?"

"Thank you."

He seemed surprised by her statement. It took him a few moments to recover before he mumbled, "You're welcome" and walked out.

She walked out after him.

The sun was setting when they exited the building. Wow, they really had been inside there for a while. What was everyone else doing now? She didn't remember anyone checking up on them, so they didn't know where she and Gaara were. And, with the exception of Neji, she didn't see anyone from the group waiting that long for them to return. They probably all went off on their own. Or maybe they all went out to eat or something.

Gaara seemed to know where the group had gone, or at least had an idea, because he didn't bother to pause and look around. He walked as if he knew exactly where he was headed to, which he most likely did. They probably had a designated meeting place; actually it would be strange if they _didn't_ have one come to think of it.

Neither of them spoke as they traveled, which was fine with both people. Sakura wasn't really in the mood to say anything and Gaara…well Gaara it seemed never really liked to speak when it wasn't necessary.

They entered a large that looked practically the same as every other building here: brown and made of bricks. There didn't seem to be very much creativity here. Then again, in the desert everything likely had to be built for practicality, no room for making things aesthetically pleasing.

She wondered what it would be like to grow up and live here. She doubted that she would enjoy it, at least based on the climate and scenery. Perhaps she'd eventually get used to it, but it was much nicer to live somewhere with more than one distinct season.

Soon they stepped through a door and saw the group. Kiba was the first to speak. "Hey, what happened?"

The pinkette couldn't help but sigh. She didn't really feel that up to talking about it yet, but they were going to have to find out sometime, so it might as well be now. She was just not looking forward to the pity party that was going to come after this. "I've found out that the woman who raised me was in league with Orochimaru."

She looked down so that she didn't have to see people's reactions. But she heard their gasps and their disbelief. She heard a few _whats_ and _reallys_. After it was gone, she looked up again.

Gaara spoke next, "Alright." All eyes turned to him. "Sakura has agreed to continue our previous mission." This time the crew gave sounds of excitement ranging from Neji nodding at her to Temari thanking her to Kiba whooping. Once they settled, the redhead continued, "We'll report and then prepare to leave."


End file.
